Frostbite: My Way
by gibbsxzivaxtony9761
Summary: OK I'm really bad at summaries but a few chapters are when he's sick, this is taking place in frostbite, but since i'm too lazy to copy the stuff richelle mead wrote for them to say, i'm gonna make it up but the plot's the same and THERE'S A TWIST!
1. Chap 1

OK THIS IS MY FIRST FAN FIC SO PLEASE DON'T EAT ME! DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE VA CHARACTERS, THEY BELONG TO RICHELLE MEAD X]

I waited in the gym, Dimitri was late, which had never ever happened in this universe. I was the late one, he was the one that would yell at me when I was late, not the other way around. I knew something was up, but I just didn't know what when he burst through the doors.

"Comrade, you're late," I said, a little smug. But once I took a good look at his face, my smugness wore off. He was pale, even for a dhampir. He had sweat covering his brow, and he definitely didn't look like a bad ass god just then.

"Dimitri, you ok?" I asked him, worried.

He nodded, "Yeah, come on do your stretches and then we'll spar."

He ran a hand through his damp brown hair and sat down on the mat; he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

I sighed and started stretching. As I was touching my toes, I kept my eyes on Dimitri. He really didn't look good at all.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and caught me looking at him.

"Are you finished?" He asked.

I nodded and stepped to the center of the mat. Dimitri followed me to the center of the mat. He gave me one nod, and we started our session.

I immediately noticed that he was slower then usual. I quickly blocked his kick that he aimed for my stomach. I followed it with a kick towards his stomach which he failed to dodge, and he fell on his back.

"Holy crap, Dimitri you ok?" I asked as I ran over to help him sit up.

He nodded, wincing in pain.

"Yeah, I'm ok," He mumbled.

I sighed, his face was turning red and my hand that was pressed to his back was on fire.

"No, you're not! Dimitri, what the hell is going on?" I asked, frustrated.

His breathing was getting heavy, and I realized that he was sweating bullets. I tore off his shirt and put a hand on his forehead. I immediately pulled it away.

"God Dimitri you're burning up!" I exclaimed.

His chest was covered in sweat, and yet I couldn't tare my eyes away from it. Wow, six pack wash board abs, you didn't find that lying around every day. Or even every year!

I sighed and tore my eyes away. I grabbed his shirt and whipped away all the sweat.

"I'll be right back," I told him, grabbing the soaked red shirt he was wearing. I went over to my gym bag and grabbed a grey sweatshirt. I walked back to Dimitri who was panting slightly and slipped it on for him.

"Rose, I'm fine really," He panted.

I sighed, "Then please explain to me why you're covered in sweat, and feel like you're on fire?"

He gave me one glare as I helped him to his feet. I put my arm around his waist and guided him out of the gym. It was a good thing the school day didn't start yet or I would have attracted a lot of glances and the rumors would be unbearable.

We arrived at his door and I patted his pockets for the key and opened it. Boy was he heavy! My Russian god was all muscle, so I shouldn't have expected him to be as light as a feather. I went over to the bed and gently lay him on it.

"Now you stay here while I go and get a wet cloth for your head," I told him.

He nodded, and gave me a smile. I felt my heart melt. Even when he was sick he still had that God-like appearance that I fell in love with the very first day I met him.

I went to the bathroom with that smile on my face and wet a cloth. When I came back, I stopped dead in my tracks. God did he look sexy lying there. I quickly shacked the thought out of my head as I rubbed the cloth over his body.

"Thank you, Roza," He told me.

"For what?" I asked.

"For taking care of me," He told me, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I was so shocked that my hand stopped moving and stayed on his chest. God I hoped that Dimitri got sick more often, because I had just learned that he let his guard down when he was sick. And I was definitely storing that bit of information in my head.

"No problem," I told him, smiling.

I put a hand to his forehead and discovered that his fever was going down ever so slightly.

"Do you have a thermometer?" I asked him.

He nodded towards the draw beside his bed and I opened it. I took off the cover and smiled at Dimitri. I loved playing doctor with him.

"Open up," I told him, poking the thermometer at his lips.

He gave me a smile and opened his mouth. I stuck the thermometer underneath his tongue and waited for the beep. I looked at Dimitri and almost chocked on laughter. He looked absolutely ridiculous with the white end sticking out of his mouth, and his eye going cross eyed because he was trying to look at it.

"Stop it, you're making me laugh," I giggled.

He looked up, "Stop what?" He asked. He sounded pretty weird but I could understand.

"Trying to see the thermometer," I giggled again.

_Beep Beep_. I took the thermometer out of his mouth, and gasped.

"You're temperature's 102.5!" I exclaimed. "Do you realize that you could have died if I listened to you?" I continued.

He merely shrugged, "I didn't know, but I'm sure I'll get better, don't worry Roza."

My heart leaped in my chest as soon as I heard the nickname Dimitri had given me.

"How come you never accept help easily and gracefully?" I asked him, a little annoyed.

His brow furrowed in thought, "Because I'm used to doing things by myself, I guess."

"Well you need to learn to let people in," I whispered in his ear, inching closer to him. My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

T o my amazement, Dimitri put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. After a while, he fell asleep. I looked at his angelic face, so peaceful and relaxed during his slumber. But so alert and wound up so tight when he was awake. I liked him when he was asleep, relaxed, with his walls down.

DPOV

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock, but I banged on it to be quiet. God, I had the worst headache ever, and my body felt like it was on fire. I could barely breathe through my stuffed nose. I sighed, this is what I get for offering to cover Stan's shift by standing in the cold while the wind and snow blew at me.

I groaned and got out of bed, feeling like I had been run over by a truck. I grabbed a shirt and slipped it over my body. The cool fabric made me feel slightly more alert. But when I stood up, the room spun before me. I knew that I didn't feel well enough to go to my practice with Roza, but I couldn't stand missing her beautiful face and dazzling smile, even if it were only for a day.

I glanced at the clock and realized that I was already five minutes late. I pulled on a pair of sweat paints and pulled on my sneakers and I was out the door. I quickly walked to the gym, and saw that Roza was already here. I couldn't believe that she was earlier then me; I was usually the early one.

"Comrade, you're late," She said smugly.

Then she looked up at my face, and the smugness was instantly erased from her face. Crap, did I really look that bad?

"Dimitri, you ok?" She asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah, come on and do your stretched, and then we'll spar," I said, instantly going into mentor mood. God I hated that I had to be all serious around her. Hell, I couldn't even crack a smile or roll my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt my headache worsen, and I sat down on the mats. I ran a hand through my already damp hair and I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I heard Rose sigh, and opened my eyes to see those deep chocolate brown eyes staring straight at mine.

"Are you finished?" I asked her, trying to wipe my face of any signs of pain.

She nodded and walked to the center of the mats. I followed her and realized that today might just be the day that she was going to beat me and mentally groaned. This day totally sucked. I nodded to her, signaling that I was ready to get my ass kicked.

I immediately went on the offensive side and tried to kick her in the stomach. Fat load of good it did me. She immediately blocked it in the blink of an eye and suddenly I was on defensive. She aimed a kick for my stomach and I didn't even see her lift her leg until it made contact with my body. I felt the wind get knocked out of me and I fell straight on my back. It wasn't a hard kick, but I was pretty beat up even before this so I wouldn't have expected to win.

"Holy crap, Dimitri you ok?" She asked, concern and worry were filled in her voice as she leaned down to look at me. She put a hand underneath my back and lifted me into a sitting position. I was so weak that I could barely sit up by myself. God, and they called me the most "bad-ass Guardian" here, what kind of Guardian can't sit up by himself?!

"Yeah I'm ok," I mumbled, I tried to put enough strength into my voice to make Rose think that I was fine, but she wasn't having any of it. Just like I could tell when she was lying, she could tell when I was lying. We knew each other that well.

"No you're not! Dimitri what the hell is going on?" She yelled at me. I didn't blame her. If we switched roles, I would have asked her the same thing.

I felt my shirt sticking to me and realized that I had completely drenched it and I hadn't even done anything yet! God, what is wrong with me, I silently wondered.

"God Dimitri, you're burning up!" Rose yelled and tore off my shirt. It reminded me of the night we both fell prey to Victor's lust charm. That was the best night of my life, but I couldn't help but feel guilty for taking advantage of her like that.

Suddenly I realized that she was wiping away my sweat with my shirt, and wondered what I was going to be wearing now. I wasn't going to go around half naked around the school that was for sure.

"I'll be right back," She told me, and walked away.

I nodded ever so slightly, but wasn't sure if she caught it. I watched as her little ass moved away across the gym. God did it look--------_what the hell?!_ Did I just seriously think that about my student?! God, she was right, I am really sick.

I zoned out afterwards, barely able to stay awake. I remember her sliding a gray sweatshirt onto my sweat covered chest, and then going to my room, but that was it. I blacked out after that, but then I suddenly remembered that I kissed her. God, I was in deep shit now!


	2. Chap 2

Rose POV

I woke up soon after I fell asleep, looking at the clock, I knew that I had to go and get ready for school soon. I sighed, looking up at Dimitri's sleeping face, I was pretty sure that I didn't want to go to my classes, but if I didn't then Kirova would send out a SWAT team in search of me and then she would have a pretty good reason to expel me.

So I decided to scrawl a note to Dimitri:

_Dimitri,_

_ I left for classes, I'm going to tell Alberta that you're sick and I'm going to get you some pills for the fever. Don't move a muscle! And don't you dare come down and start Guarding, because if you do then I'm going to be pretty pissed off. _

_ Love,_

_ Rose_

I ran out the door in my jeans and tank top from last night, and headed off to class. I was in a complete daze, coming to class late every period, all of my teachers told me to snap out of it and hurry up and pay attention. It wasn't my fault that I was worried about Dimitri, I love him for god's sake! But the teacher's never understood love.

At the end of the day, I ran to Dr. Olendsiki's office and asked for the medication.

"How old is the patient?" She asked.

"24," I answered, nervous. But she only looked at me with surprise and nothing else. She handed me the bottle and I ran down the hall to Alberta's office. I knocked quietly and stepped inside the office before she even said I could come in. I knew that it was rude, but I didn't want to waste any unnecessary time.

"Rose, what can I do for you?" She asked.

"Guardian Belikov is sick, so he can't do any Guardian duties for a while," I told her, out of breath.

She nodded, "Since I'm just about to drown under paper work, I'm going to trust you, just tell him to call me to confirm it."

I nodded and stepped out of her office and ran to Dimitri's room, ecstatic, but when I was at his door, I heard two voices in the room.

"Tasha, I can't------

Dimitri was cut off, and I heard him moan with pleasure.

I burst into the unlocked room and saw a beautiful dark haired woman on top of Dimitri, kissing him.

I gasped, and she turned around.

Dimitri looked up at me, his eyes wide with shock and horror.

"I just came to give you the medicine. Alberta wants you to call her yourself and tell her that you're sick," I told him.

I looked up, my eyes were filled with pain and sadness, but I couldn't help it. He hurt me, how could he sleep with this fucking whore?! Over me?!

"Rose, it's not what it looks like," He began, but I cut him off.

"Save it, _Guardian _Belikov, you don't have to explain yourself to me," I told him. I walked out of his room, and went into my own, slamming the door behind me and throwing myself onto the bed. God it hurt so bad, I could barely breath. I felt the air press against me, and I couldn't suck any of it in. I was in a cloud of pain and hurt, and I had to make it end. Anything would be better then this pain. I took the scissors off the table and used the blades to make a line on my wrist. I counted the drops of blood that fell on the mat. _1….2…….3…….. _and then I blacked out.


	3. Chap 3

Ok guys, I start school tomorrow D: sucks I know but like that means I won't update a lot ok? So I don't think that I abandoned this story ok? Lol

Dimitri POV

I walked to the student dorms and knocked on Rose's door. I waited patiently, but after standing there knocking for about two minutes, that patience wore off.

"Rose?" I called into the door. No answer.

I began to worry, what if she was sleeping with some guy? God if that were true then she's going to be wishing that she had a different mentor.

I jiggled the handle to find that it wasn't locked. Hm, I thought, that was clumsy of Rose. I walked into her room, shutting the door behind me to find her lying on her bed. I smiled, she looked so peaceful, but then a patch of red on the white sheets caught my eyes. My smile vanished and I felt the blood drain from my face. There was a pair of scissors lying next to her.

I ran to her and brushed the hair away from her face.

"Roza, Roza please don't die on me," I cried. I turned her to face me and saw her wrist. The blade hadn't crossed any vital veins, so it was pretty minor. I let out the breathe that I didn't even notice that I was holding in. The cut was pretty deep, but it had stopped bleeding. i ran to the bathroom and founda few band-Ade's in her drawer. I went back to her and put one of them on her wrist

I gently shook her, whispering her name over and over again. I pained me so much to know that I was the cause of all this, that I had basically made her cut herself. This one was basically all on me even though i hadn't taken the blade and slid it across her wrist. I might as well have.

I felt her stir and she opened her eyes. I sighed, relieved that I wasn't too late. Her chocolate brown eyes were filled with pain and sadness, but she quickly brushed that away.

"Roza, I'm so sorry," I told her, stroking that brown hair that i adored.

"Why Dimitri, I'm not good enough for you anymore?" She asked, her voice was cracked.

How could she think that? I love her! But if I saw her with another guy I would be pretty upset too.

"You are good enough, you're more than enough. Tasha is just an old friend, she kissed me without my consent, and I didn't realize what was happening," I told her truthfully.

She shook her head, "I don't believe you. You're always so strong, if you wanted to break away then you could have. Even if you were delirious with fever you could have."

"I love you, Roza. Please believe that. She just came in to take care of me, and then she started to get out of hand, but I do love you Roza," I told her. The words I was saying to her were dangerous and I shouldn't have said them, but I needed to make the pain go away. I needed to make her better.

She nodded, her face breaking into a smile. God I love her smile, I thought. Suddenly I remembered the day when I foundher being thrown around by Natilie. She looked so fraglie, lying in a heap on the floor. I remember how much pain I had felt, and how i had prayed to god that she wouldn't die because if she did then I knew that I would have died with her.

"Now tell me what happened," I told her, brushing the memory away.

"I was upset when I saw you and Tasha like that, and well, I kinda blacked out after I cut myself." She told me.

I sighed, I expected her to say that, but nothing could have prepared me for how much those words hurt.

I just nodded, unable to express any of my feelings. That was a good thing in this case because if she saw how hurt I really was, then all my walls would break down.

"Listen, you have your Qualifier tomorrow right after class," I told her, trying to change the subject.

Her eyes got wider with each word I spoke, nd her jaw practically landed on the bed.

"Oh my god, seriously? Dammit, why didn't you tell me earlier?" She asked me.

I smiled, "Because then that would be cheating if I told you about it."

She nodded, "Ok, I guess I can't blame you," She mumbled.

I laughed, "I was going to tell you tomorrow which would have been even worse."

She nodded, biting her lower lip. Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrating and sighed. Sometimes I just wished that I could kick back and ignore my annoying phone.

"Belikov," I said crisply.

"Belikov, it's Alberta, you don't sound sick to me," Alberta's tone was angry. I didn't blame her, Rose had told her that I was sick.

"I'm better, and I can do boarder patrols if you need me," I told her.

"Good, because I need you right now to patrol the male dorms," She told me.

"I'll be right there, Alberta," I told her and hung up.

"Rose, I got to go," I told her, and her face twisted into a small grimace.

"How come, going to go sleep with Tasha again?" She asked me, her tone turned icy.

I sighed. You know when you really wish that you could turn back time and change the past so that the future would be better? This is one of those times. Tasha Ozero is not a bad woman, she just gets over excited, and her actions are misinterpreted. She was just happy to see me, and got a little excited.

"No, I have to patrol the male dormitories," I told her and walked away from her. As much as I hated to leave her there on the bed all by herself, I had to. My duties always come first, even if it meant leaving the most beautiful woman in the world.

She nodded, I knew she would understand. Rose gave me a smile and waved. I just nodded, fuck the mentor rules. Who ever wrought the stupid book anyways? Why couldn't we be all friendly with our students and give a smile once in a while? I sighed, this was the life I chose, and now I have to stick with it not matter what. I walked out the door, my head still swimming with how Roza smelled and what she looked like on the bed. Fragile, broken. I grimaced. I caused that pain. I caused her to constantly _be in pain and that tore me apart..._


	4. Chap 4

Rose POV

I looked from Mason to Dimitri, I knew I was pretty much screwed, but I didn't want to really think about it right now. God, how did I not see them hiding in the shadows? Now I knew that I was going to totally flunk the Qualifier. I couldn't even spot my god damn mentor for crying out loud! And he's the hot sexy Russian god, how can no one spot that?!

"Hathaway, Ashford, off the bleachers, put on the padding and let's see some action," Dimitri said, his voice was harsh, just like it almost always was.

I thought he said no practice, so why the hell was he standing in the gym ten minutes before he was suppose to come? _Because he's Dimitri, _a voice in my head sounded. I sighed, yes, because he was Dimitri and just had to be early.

I slid off the bleachers with Mason following behind me. He looked pretty tense. I mean who wouldn't be when they were in the presence of the most bad-ass Guardian in the whole country? But he tried to cover it up with a joke.

"Looks like your mentor caught us, we're screwed," He laughed it off.

I choked out a laugh of my own, trying to make it believable. Dimitri was such a freaking ninja sometimes.

I put on my padding, sliding the leather pads over my body and over my legs. I had been doing this every day since I was in the seventh grade, you would think that I would know how to put on my chest pads by now.

"Here, lemme help you," Mason said, and took the pads away from me and covered my breasts, his hands lingering on them just for a second before tying it behind my back. I noticed that the place he touched with his hands felt like they were on fire, but in a good way.

I smiled, "Keep your hands off me until _after _class so you don't get your ass kicked," I whispered to him as we approached a pretty pissed off Dimitri. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that he saw what Mason did. I sighed; well at least Mason's head was still attached to his body. _For now _at least.

We walked to separate ends of the mats, and then walked to the center so that we were a few feet apart.

Dimitri came between us, and between the both of us, his eye lingering in mine, and I felt that familiar flush creep across my body. But then he broke away, breaking the connection. That's what I hated about him, he always broke away first, leaving me wanting more. I know that that's what people should do, that way the magic lasts longer and it's more pleasurable the next time they meet, but what the phrase "always leaving them wanting more" didn't seem to show how that person who wanted something hurt when she didn't get it, or when _he _broke it off.

He nodded, and signaled for us to begin. Mason immediately launched himself at me, a move that was so clumsy I hadn't expected it. But I swiftly dodged to the side, every muscle in my body tensed up just like I am when I fight Dimitri.

Mason came at me again, trying to pin me to the ground, using his weight, but I resisted and squirmed out from under him. I grabbed his arm and pinned it behind his back, struggling to grasp the other one. But during my struggles, I hadn't noticed that the arm I was once holding slipped away until it came in contact with my stomach. I hunched over in pain, but he didn't give me any time to recover. Mason immediately spun around and kicked me in the same place. He was punching and kicking too hard, but he hadn't realized it yet.

I tasted blood in the back of my mouth, and firmly pressed my lips together. I saw Mason falter as he tried to gain his balance and I jumped him. I pinned him to the ground, feeling the taste of iron increase as I pushed my efforts into keeping him down. I felt a little leak out, but couldn't brush it away until Dimitri called it.

"1, 2, 3, nice job Rose," Dimitri said.

I jumped off Mason, turning to face Dimitri. I saw his expression go from pride, to horror. He immediately went over to me.

"Rose, why didn't you say you were hurt that bad?" He asked me, whispering urgently.

I wiped away the blood and said calmly, "I'm not, It's no big deal."

He shook his head, "You're lying. I can see that you're in pain. You've been in pain ever since he kicked you."

Dammit, why did he have to know me so well? My stomach wasn't exactly killing me, but it hurt pretty badly.

"Rose, oh my god, are you ok? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kick you that hard, I lost control," Mason started, getting up from the ground.

I shook my head, "It's cool Mase, I'm not hurt that bad."

"But you are, you were bleeding a few seconds ago," Mason started and was at my side in a few seconds.

"Chill Mason, it's not like I'm on the floor bleeding, relax," I told him.

I felt Dimitri's eyes on me the whole time, I swallowed the remaining blood in my mouth, and tried to look like normal Rose. The one that didn't have an aching stomach that felt lik it was bruised everywhere.

"Yeah, but I'm sorry. We should take you to the clinic," He said.

I shook my head, "Class is about to start anyways, so no need and Mr. Guidice said that if I was late ever again then I would have a detention with him. Not that I'm complaining "cause he's 28 and totally buff, but it would look bad on my record."

"Rose, regardless of how you think you feel, you should sit out for this period," Dimitri said. His voice was low and husky, probably pissed off that I called my Combat instructor hot. But hey, he was Italian, had blue-gray eyes, and totally muscular. But he was 28, way too old for me.

I nodded as Dimitri scribbled down my excuse note onto a piece of paper as the class filed in. He handed my combat instructor the note and resumed his place in the shadows, almost blending in.

Mr. Guidice nodded, and walked over to me and Mason. Mason walked away, knowing and sensing that he wasn't wanted.

"Rose, Guardian Belikov just told me what happened, would you like me to tak you to the clinic?" He asked, his blue gray eyes were hinted with worry.

As much as an escort from him to the clinic was tempting, I had to turn it down. He looks so much hotter here working out in the weight room. Maybe he'll let me come and watch him.

I shook my head, "Nah, it's OK, I think I'll just do some weights with you," I suggested instead.

He smiled and nodded, "I'd like that."

Even though he was pretty god damn sexy, he was nothing compared to Dimitri. Mr. G was like the crush of all the girls in my grade, but that was only because they knew that Dimitri wouldn't exactly flirt with them. Believe me, they've tried. Mr. G was known to be more of a flirter, even though he was older than Dimitri. Him and I have flirted a lot, and shared one kiss, but that was it. My interest was dimmed when Dimitri caught us and wrestled us back to the Academy. After seeing such a hot Russian God, I couldn't possibly be distracted by someone who was just really cute.

We walked into the weight room and I sat in the corner with a couple of 10 pound weights.

"Hey Mr. G------," He cute me off.

"Call me Daniel," He said quickly, immediately going for the 20 pounds.

"Ok, Daniel," I tasted the name on my tongue, "Was the rumor about you and Meridith true?"

He looked taken aback, but quickly regained his composure, "No, she's too ugly for me, I prefer girls like you." He winked at me.

I knew he was playful, but I never knew that he would be this, but i never knew that he would act like a teenager and flirt so well.

I laughed it off, "That's really nice, especially when she looks up to you as like a god or something."

I had heard a previous conversation that involved Meredith babbling on about how hot Daniel was. I almost stopped and laughed in her face, no way would he go for her.

He laughed too, "Yeah, that's a good point, but I'm trying to avoid her, so yeah."

I nodded, heard the bell, and walked out of the room. Dimitri was standing right by the door, almost scaring me half to death.

"What the hell, you scared me Comrade," I told him as I walked out of the gym.

"I don't like you and Daniel together," He abruptly said.

I stopped, did I hear a note of jealousy in his voice? 1 point for Rose! Finally struck a nerve.

"He's just my teacher, Dimitri," I told him, with the slightest smirk on my face.

"He's tryin to get you to fall in love with him," Dimitri stated bluntly.

Yup, he was definitely jealous.

I shook my head, "Not gonna happen relax."

I walked off to my next class, in a daze. Was Dimitri really that jealous? God, that was a happy/scary thought. He was always so calm and never showed how he felt that this shocked me. I passed through my classes by thinking of DImitri and occasionally talking to Lissa to find out if she got any worse. The whole day I felt nothing but calmness and happiness through the bond, which made me relax a little bit.

Once the last bell rang, I was a bundle of nerves. All I could think about was the Qualifier, It was today, and I had to meet up with Dimitri right now. God, I'm screwed. I didn't even notice Dimitri there in the gym, what was I going to do now?

People I'm starting to feel really ignored now how come none of you guys r reviewing? tell me what you want to see in the next chapters and i'll take your ideas! ALL OF THEM so review ppl! nd if u do u get to join da dark side -evil/ cute laugh- we gots cookies nd marshmellows!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Dimitri POV

God, she was late, again. Why did she always choose the most important moments to be the latest to? How come she couldn't be late for Guidice's class? God that still made me a little bit pissed off. When she walked off I just couldn't help it but think that he could give her what she wanted, and he would. But I would protect her, and I would make sure that no harm would ever come to her. I love her. Even if I can't bring myself to tell her, because those words were much too dangerous to use.

Rose POV

I walked out of the academy to see Dimitri leaning against a blue Honda Pilot, how boring, I thought. But then again, I couldn't expect us to navigate Montana in a Volvo or a Porsche.

"I know, I know, sorry I'm late," I told him when I saw his face.

"How long's the drive?" I asked him. I silently prayed that we would have a snow storm as I saw the white flakes melting as soon as they hit his silky brown hair.

"About 4 hours," He answered promptly.

I nodded and got into the car. It smelled like his after shave, the scent was sharp against the black leather seats. God did the car smell good, if I didn't have the will power I would have got down on my knees and pressed my face against the seat. But I didn't, to my relief.

We drove out of the Academy, speeding through forests and houses until the houses were so few that you wouldn't see one for miles.

"Who are we going to?" I asked.

"Arthur Schoenberg," He answered promptly.

I nearly choked on my own spit, "What?" I squeaked.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," He told me, his eyes on the road, but a small smile was on his lips.

He turned on the music, and I immediately cringed.

"Comrade, turn off the crap music, it's not helping with the nerves," I told him.

He smiled and turned the dial to a different station. I think it was Z100 or something like that, but they were playing _I need you now._ My favorite song.

I hummed along, the only reason I liked this song was because it reminded me of Dimitri, and I really did hope that he thought about me. I know that I thought about him almost every minute I'm away from him, and I almost always will need him.

I was so consumed in my thoughts that I didn't even notice when the tires started squealing. Then I heard Dimitri cursing in Russian as he yanked the wheel in different directions and pressing the gas pedal.

I saw that we were headed for a tree, and screamed. I undid my seat belt and tried to scramble away from it, but it kept on coming. Faster and faster, the roughness of the bark seemed to fill my vision. I felt and heard a sickening crunch as my head slammed against the window. I winced as I started tumbling, my arm felt like it had gone through the window, but my head was only slightly bruised.

I felt the white air bags press against me, and sat up in the seat, but I couldn't move my arm. My head throbbed and when I looked at my arm, it had gone through the glass and was now bleeding in several places.

"Roza! Roza, I'm so sorry, the wheels hit the ice, Roza, are you alright, talk to me!" That was Dimitri's voice, he was panicking, which was something I never heard him do before. He was looking at me with those brown sweet eyes. Right now they were filled with worry as he got out of the car and gently pulled my arm out of the window, and opening my door.

"Can you walk?" He asked me.

I felt so weak, and shook my head as I blacked out.


	6. Chapter 6

Dimitri POV

"Rose. Roza!" I yelled, shaking my beautiful angel. Color was draining from her face and her arm was gushing out rivers of blood. I felt the cold air and snow flakes bite into my coat, but I didn't care. All I cared about was Roza, I would give my life to save her. This little snow storm was nothing.

I gently pulled her out of her seat, holding her tight to my body. I found a few bandages in my bag that I brought, I thought that the Qualifier would leave Rose a little bloodied up anyways. I bandaged her arm the way I was taught a few years back, and stroked the hair out of her beautiful face.

I closed the car doors and walked straight ahead. I saw a hotel in the distance, it wasn't so far away, probably 20-30 minutes for me to walk. 15 if I hurried. And boy, was I going to hurry.

I ran with my Roza held tightly against me, pressing her against my searing hot skin. I never got cold, that was one of the strangest things about me. You could put me in a snow storm (like the one we're in now), and I won't even have goose bumps. I tried to make my body heat flood into her, I looked down as I ran across the thin crust of freshly fallen snow. Roza was slowly turning a pale blue, and her skin felt like a package of ice. Even I couldn't keep her warm enough.

"Come on Roza, you can make it," I murmured.

Suddenly, I felt the wave of emotion I was trying to hold back burst through my walls. If my Rozadiedthinking that I didn't love her, I couldn't live with myself. Sure, Tasha was a great friend, but I can't live without Roza in my life. Her existence was the only thing in my life that I looked fore-ward to every day.

I was approaching the hotel now, and pushed my legs faster. The only good thing about the cold was that Roza's blood might just freeze from the snow that was now turning into little bits of hail. I ran through them, not bothering to brush off the thing layer of ice that had accumulated on the back of my coat. I couldn't stop now, not when we were so close, not when she could die.

As soon as I burst through the elegant hotel doors, I felt the heat scorch at me. It felt pretty good to feel the ice start to melt and slip off my back. I rushed to the check in desk to find a surprised petite blonde woman.

"Can I help you?" She asked warily. I imagined that I looked pretty wet and mangled from the accident.

"Yes, I need a room with two bed and a fire place if available," I told her, shifting my weight from foot to foot, impatient.

She scrolled through the lists of rooms and shook her head. "I only have one room with one bed and a fire place, sorry."

I sighed, I wouldn't mind sleeping with my Roza, but it just didn't feel right that I should be taking advantage of the situation. _But you're not, Rose would want you to,_ that voice inside my head nagged at me, almost smug.

"Alright, I'll take it," I mumbled.

I took out my credit card and charged it. I booked the room for about two to three nights, the storm looked pretty bad.

The woman handed me the key and I walked into the elevator pressing the 7th button and tried to make the elevator go faster. Rose needed medical attention right away, and she need to get warm before she got hypothermia. If only she would just wear warmer clothes, instead of the tank top and jeans and a light jacket. It was winter, for crying out loud! _But don't forget that you like her that way, you like it when she's dressed like that, don't deny it._ The voice was just as smug as before.

I ignored it this time, and walked up to me and Roza'sroom. 705. I opened the door withthe room key and looked in. It was pretty cozy withthefire burning and the bed. It all looked so elegant and clean. There was another room connected to it, the dinning room. The table was a dark brown shade and was pretty smooth. I set Roza on the bed, and began to go back for our things. I suspected that this might happen, but it was just a precaution. I took one last glance at my Roza and walked out the door, closing it gently behind me.

Rose POV

When I woke up, I was disoriented. I looked around the elegant room, and thought, where the hell am I? Where was Dimitri? I remembered him calling my name before, so where was he? I tried to prop myself up on my left arm but cried out in pain. I looked down and saw my arm was heavily bandaged, but I could see a bright red underneath the bandages. My head throbbed, and my arm felt like it was on fire.

Suddenly, I heard the door open and curled myself into a ball, shivering madly. I was freezing cold, my skin was a dull blue, and I felt like I had been dunked in ice.

"Rose, what happened?" I knew that voice, it was like velvet on my skin and that Russian accent laced along the words made me shiver in delight.

"C-cold, arm h-hurts," I stuttered, shivering twice as hard.

He was by my side in an instant, my Russian God. He pulled me close to him, and mumbled something in Russian. But his tone was soothing and I felt so relaxed after wards. He was so warm, his skin was red hot, and I suspected that he had a fever, but he looked alright.

"Roza, I'm so sorry, I should have kept better control of the wheel," He apologized, his voice sounded so regretful that my heart broke just hearing it.

"S'not your fault, Comrade, you didn't do it on purpose," I murmured into his chest. I breathed in that unique scent of his and felt a little better. When he was here, I felt a lot better.

I felt his arms wrapped tight around my body. They were both around my waist but came to rest on my stomach, and I gratefully cringed into him for warmth.

I felt his arms shift and he gently stretched my injured arm out. I winced slightly, but didn't protest.

"I have to change these bandages, this might sting a little, but it'll be ok," He told me as he peeled back on end, and slowly unwrapped the bandages.

I kept my jaw locked as to not show any pain, I wanted to be strong just like him. But once my eyes fluttered towards my arm and I couldn't stop gaping. It was covered in blood, the scratches weren't so deep, but they bled heavily.

He pulled out a new set of bandages from his bad and unwrapped them. He then put the soiled bandages on the table and started wrapping the new ones on my arm. This time I couldn't help but shake from the pain. When the cloth touched my skin it hurt a lot, I didn't want anything on it at all. When he was done, he looked into my eyes, his hands never leaving my hand.

I felt an electric current go through us, and shivered.

"I went to get our bags from the car, so you can change into something warmer," He finally said slowly.

I nodded, and knew that the moment was over. Why did he always have to be so mature with me? Why can't he be free and lose, just like he was with Tasha. Tasha. Boy did that name bring back memories. And they weren't happy ones either, but since I could have mistaken what they were, doing I decided to not think about it.

I found a sweater in my bag and pulled it over my head. It had a deep V-neck, which showed off my chest quite a bit. I caught Dimitri staring at my chest after I changed, but he quickly averted his eyes when he noticed that I noticed.

"So, what shoudl we do now?" I asked him, flopping on the bed beside him.

"I'm going to call Alberta and tell her what happened," He said stiffly.

He grabbed his phone and walked into the bathroom to make the call. God did he looklike a god, I noticed. He had a tight black sweater on and black jeans. His brown hair was lose, the way I liked it, and his after shave was mixed in with sweat and water. I was suprised that he never noticed the effect he had on me.

He walked back out, and i felt so tired that I didn't even notice. I started to take off my jeans and threw them on the floor, when I heard his voice.

"Rose! What are you doing?" He asked me, his face was filled with shock and something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I yawned, "Going to bed, I'm so tired, you must be too."

He nodded, and eased up as he went into the bathroom to change. pulled off the sweater and the tank top to revewlmy black bra. I was so happy that I decided to match my lacy bra with my black lacy panties.

When he came out and saw me lying on the bed, staring out the window I swear I heard his jaw drop to the floor.

I turned around, and caught him staring.

"What? This is what I wear to bed," I said innocently.

He nodded and I did a double take. HOLY MOTHER FUCKER!!! He was shirtless! And oh hell, did he look like a god. His chest was bare, and beautiful. He had an 8 pack, and looked so god damn hot!

He slid under the covers and I did the same, shivering. He sighed, "Still cold, huh?"

I nodded, slightly embarrassed.

He put his arms around me and pulled me close to him. I felt my chest being pressed against his, and I smiled as I drifted off to sleep.

Dimitri POV

I heard the phone ring before i could get fully awake. I groaned, and realized that my arm was locked on something that wouldn't move. I looked down and saw that my arms were locked firmly around Roza's waist, and to my embarrassment, one of my hands were on her left breast. I rubbed at it absentmindedly, and then stopped my self, shocked. God dammit! Why couldn't I control myself around her?!

I sighed, unlocked my arms and reached for my phone.

"Belikov," I whispered.

"Dimka! God, I'm so happy your safe!" Tasha yelped.

"Yeah, well I wish I could say the same for Rose," I whispered, shifting my weight and lowering my voice as to not wake her.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Tasha asked, her voice was filled with worry.

"Her arm flew through the glass, and she could have gotten hypothermia a while ago if I was too late to bring her in," I sighed.

"Oh my, well when do you think you can come back to the Academy?" Tasha asked. "She need medical attention," Tasha added.

I sighed, looking out the water. It was still snowing heavily, I couldn't even see through teh window. I just saw a blanket of snow on the window sill.

"I don't know, it's still a snow storm here," I told her, my eyes traveling to Roza's beautiful face.

"Aw, but I miss you Dimka, and the night we spent," She whispered seductively.

"Before we were interrupted," I added, feeling the guilt coarse through me again.

"Yeah, she looked shocked, I wouldn't blame her. If you saw her and some guy having sex, you would be pretty shocked too, right?" She asked, laughing.

I shuddered at the memory. I remembered finding Rose and Jesse in the empty lounge. God, I wanted to rip his throat out. Hell, if I found any guy with Rose like that ever again, I will.

"Yeah," was all I said.

"Look, I'll get back home as soon as I can," I continued.

"Great, I'm looking fore-ward to seeing you again, after all, I have a question to ask you," Tasha said, and hung up.

I hung up as well, feeling like I was cheating on her with Rose. I knew that I could never love Tasha, because I was head over heels for Roza. My Roza. I would do anything for her, and I knew that she would do the same thing for me.

I wrapped my arms around her again just as she turned to face me, putting her face into my chest. I felt so happy where we touched, and I felt lust fly into me, just like the night of the lust charm, only this time it wasn't a charm. It was real love and passion.

"I love you, Roza," I told her.

"I love you too Dimitri, so much," I heard her mumble into my chest.

I puleed apart a little to bend down and kiss her. I felt her kiss me back, and her hands stradled my chest, while mine wound their way into her hair. I felt her hand slide down to the middle of my boxers, where my dick was. I felt her rub it while we kissed. I smiled and put my hands on the edges of her bra, sliding on her breasts, rubbing it softly. Her skin was so soft and smooth, perfect.

Suddenly, I realized what we were doing, and pulled away. I got out of bed, and walked into the bathrrom, turning around to see her brown eyes fill with agonizing pain and lost. It was almost enough to pull me back. Almost, but I was able to turn away, leaving her lying on the bed, sad and torn. I felt so torn, between going back to Rose and doing my duty. I chose my duty.


	7. Chapter 7

Rose POV

I watched him walk into the bathroom, a war raging in his mind. He was fighting to either stay with me or do his duty. By the looks of it, his duty won. My body felt like it had lost something important, but I ignored it. I wanted Dimitri so bad, but I couldnt' have him. He wasn't mine, and I had to deal with that. Crap. That seriously sucked.

I still remembered how his fingers had traced the edges of my bra and where his chest touched mine. God I missed that. And when our lips met, that was like magic. Why did he have to end it? WHY? Because he's your mentor, a voice told me.

I pulled a shirt over my bra and put on a pair of jeans, feeling dejected. I saw Dimitri come out, without even glancing at me he started to order room service. He didn't even bother to ask me what I wanted.

I felt a familiar ache in my chest and went into the bathroom to fix myself. I pulled a comb through my hair and brushed my teeth. I put on eye shadow and eyeliner and foundation on to my face. I wanted to look as hot as I could manage without over doing it.

I heard Dimitri opening the door and thanking the person that brought up our breakfast, and closed the door.

"Do you want eggs and bacon or egg and sausage?" He asked, his voice gruff, showing no emotion.

"Eggs and bacon, I guess," I told him, my voice just as neutral.

I grabbed the tray and walked into the dinning room and pushed the food into my mouth, tasting cardboard. I tried ignoring the fact that Dimitri was ignoring me, but it didn't work. I kept on going back to the way it felt when he touched me and kissed me. It felt like I was in heaven, full of magic and energy. God, I loved him. He was my whole world, he------. no! Rose, shut up, he doesn't love you, he stopped it. He's your mentor now, deal with it!

He sat acros from me, equally quiet. God, this was awkward.

"So hows your arm?" He asks absentmindedly.

I shrugged, "Same."

He nodded, "Would you like me to change the bandages?' He asked.

I shook my head, "I'll do it myself."

He nodded again, and ate the rest of his food. I put my tray back onto the cart and he did the same. I pushed it out the door and closed it. I didn't want to look at him so i avoided my eyes from his, trying to picture a wall between us.

The rest of the days were like that, we were both quiet, never speaking unless it was something important. But the last day, when he was sleeping on the coach and I was sleeping on the bed, I heard the window crack, and was instantly awake, breaking out in cold sweat. Dimitri was up in a second, going to the window, his stake drain.

I sat up in bed and climbed out after him. He motioned for me to get down, and I obeyed. He stalked closer to the window, keeping to the shadows as a dark shape broke through the window and sprang at me.

I shrieked as Dimitri charged at the shadow. When their bodies collided, there as a bang, as if it were thunder. I saw the dark shape's eyes, and gasped. They were blood red, and as they drilled into my head, I cringed away. I saw his lips turn into a death smile that chilled me to the bone. I gasped again as i saw the Strigoi grab Dimitri and fling him across the wall.

"No!" I yelled and sprang towards my mentor, my lover, and my Comrade. The Strigoi blocked my path and grabbed my arm

"Dhampir," He breathed in my scent and smiled, "You smell delightful! You're going to make a great blood whore."

He yanked me towards him, and I felt a pain on my arm, he was clawing into the one I had injured in the car accident. I kicked him in the chest. It didn't have any effect on him, he just pulled me closer and brought his lips down to my neck.

"Get away from her!" Dimitri yelled, staking the Strigoi from the back.

His eyes suddenly lose that red tint to it, and he fell on top of me, dead. I pushed him off of me, retreating to the back of the room, my eyes never leaving the body of the dead Strigoi.

"Roza, are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Dimitri asked, his voice gentle.

I shook my head, deciding to ignore my throbbing arm. He advanced towards me, looking me over.

I looked up to meet his face and saw a bruise beginning to form on his cheek.

"You're hurt," I reached up involuntarily and stroked his cheek.

"It's nothing, it'll heal," He told me, caressing my hand.

I smiled, "Thank, you saved my life Comrade."

He gave me one of those rare smiles that made my heart soar, "I would do anything to protect you, Roza."

"Is that a promise?" I asked, regaining my wittiness.

He laughed, his laugh was like bells, "Yes, it's a promise."

I took my hand away from his face, and shivered. The glass was all over the place, and snow was beginning to blow in.

"Great, now how are we going to explain this?" I asked Dimitri.

He shook his head, "You got me there. Maybe we could ask Alberta."

I nodded, "Yeah, but _after _we get some sleep, ok? I'm beat."

I flopped onto the bed just as Dimitri climbed down into the covers. My heart leaped another feet as his body touched mine. It felt so good to feel his presence beside me again. If I were to be stranded in a hotel with anyone, I was so glad that it was him.

"Good night, Dimitri," I yawned.

"Good night, my Roza," I heard him mumbled, pressing his lips to my hair. I felt my eyes close, and I felt his arm around me.

"I love you," I mumbled.

"I lovey you too," I thought I heard him say, but I wasn't sure as I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Rose POV

I woke up, feeling more relaxed then I had the past two days. I felt Dimitri's body against mine, and smiled. As always, his presence was always so comforting to me. Then, I remembered the events from last night, and my heart almost broke. I had almost lost Dimitri. I could never _ever _lose Dimitri, because if I did, then I would just die right where I was.

I shifted to face my Russian god. He was smiling, and his eyes were already open. I was shocked, he was so quiet and he hadn't even moved. I touched the place where the bruise had been, but now only his creamy skin was visible.

"Good morning," He told me.

"Morning, Comrade," I answered automatically. What happened to doing your duty? I wondered. I also wondered if what I had heard last night was true, about him loving me. That couldn't be right. I must have already fallen asleep and dreamed that part. No matter what Dimitri would never tell me that. Even if it meant burning him in the pits of hell he would probably never say that. Duty always came first to him. Always and forever. Always and forever before me.

He laughed, I had heard a lot of his laughter, and decided that i wanted to hear more of it, so I wasn't bothered by the ringing of his laugh and the beat of my heart.

"Why do you always call me that?" He asked me, a small smile coming to play on his lips.

I shrugged, "Because I think of you as someone that's on my side, someone who'll always be there for me."

He nodded, his face thoughtful, "I will always be here for you, that's true. And I am your friend."

I laughed to myself. I thought of him more as a friend, _much _more than a simple friend. He was my love, my life, my everything.

He looked out the window and sighed, the happiness sucked from his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning to look at the window too. The snow had stopped. Crap. That would mean that we could go back to the Academy. And that he would probably forget every precious moment we spent together and all the feelings he felt towards me, if there were any. But I knew that I would treasure these past few days in my heart as some of the best days of my life.

"We have to go back today, we don't have a good enough excuse not to," He told me, going into Guardian mode. His face was an impassible mask once more, and that trace of humor and passion and maybe even _love_was gone. There was just a blank expression that I knew too well.

"Yeah," I agreed and got out of bed.

Why did he have to change? Why can't he be like this all the time around me? I love him...but the question always was, (because he would never tell me) if he loved me as much as I love him. Probably not, considering the look on his face.

I grabbed my bag and put on a long sleevesweater and black jeans. It looked pretty cold outside, too cold for my usual sluttiness.

He looked at me, already dressed in his usual Guardian attire. Black.

"Ready?" He asked.

I nodded, grabbing my backpack as he opened the door for me and we headed out. I would miss this place, it was filled with so many good memories, even if they would be wiped away soon.

We walked to the check in desk and handed the lady the key and walked out the door, to see our blue Honda Pilot all fixed up and ready to go. I got in the passenger seat and Dimitri got in the drivers seat. I settled in for the long drive back to the Academy, feeling heart broken. I knew for sure that he would never bring up the nights we spent here to anyone, even me. He would never reminisce about all the stuff we did the first day and the last night. These would just be something that he would try and forget because he would be thinking that he wasn't doing his job right. That he was taking advantage of me when he really wasn't!

We got on the highway, and headed south towards the Academy. He didn't even bother to look at me, and he didn't turn on the radio either, so it was deathly quiet in the car. Much too quiet for my liking. But I knew that he was thinking about something because his mask would slip every few minutes, revealing shock, and love. I could only guess that the shock was from what we did, but i couldn't understand the love. It went against everything that I had thought, unless the love wasn't for me.

The mere thought made my heart crack. If he didn't love me, then who did he love?

We pulled up at the Academy, and he pulled to a stop. I got out of the car, slamming the door behind me and headed into the doors to be greeted by a bear hug.

"God Rose, we were so effing worried!" Mason cried.

I laughed and put my arms around his back, "You shouldn't be, you know I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, but in a freakin' storm?! With a jacked up arm?" He wondered out loud.

"Hey, my arm's all better," I told him, shaking it in his face. The scratches had faded away and a new layer of skin covered the faint scars on my arm.

"Rose!" Lissa sprinted towards me and wrapped me in a hug.

"Lissa, I missed you so much!" I told her, hugging her back.

"I missed you too, heck, everyone missed you! Especially Mason, as soon as he heard, he went nuts! He basically called every hotel in Montana to make sure you were ok, but he stopped at the 24Th one," Lissa laughed.

I looked at Mason, shocked, "Seriously? You shouldn't have worried so much about me though."

"You're worth it, Rose, hell, you're worth anything I can do for you," He told me, his eyes sparkling.

That's when I saw Dimitri glaring at me with my bag in his hand. I could see a tiny hint of hurt, that he couldn't give me a hug, or say anything like what Mason just said, but he brushed it away and his mask and walls were back on.

I walked towards him, taking my bag from him.

"Thank you, for keeping me safe," I whispered in his ear and gave him a hug.

Judging by his stiff posture, he hadn't expected that and only hugged me back after a few seconds I wrapped my arms around him.

"I promised, didn't I?" He asked. His lips sounded like they were in my hair.

My heart leaped upward, so he didn't forget! And he didn't want to!

But my hopes were shattered as his arms curled back to his sides and he walked away. I did the same and went back to my friends, whose mouths were open in shock.

"That was Guardian Belikov, you just _hugged _Guardian Belikov," Lissa stuttered.

I laughed, "Relax, it was a thank you hug. He helped me get my arm to work more," I laughed, thinking about how strange i worded my sentence.

Mason nodded, and Lissa just looked at me with a quizzical expression on her face.

"So, what do you guys wanna do?" I asked them.

"Well, I heard about the attack. They sent a whole team there to search for you guys, and when they came back empty handed all the guys were like horrified that you could be dead," Lissa said.

"Yeah, and then we heard from someone that you guys were OK, and so I stopped making calls," Mason added.

I laughed, and looked out one of the windows. The sun was just starting to rise, and I realized that classes had ened for them.

"We should go to sleep," I suggested, taking in their tired expressions.

"Yeah, well, see ya guys later," Lissa said and went up the stairs to her room.

Mason nodded, and to my suprise kissed me on the cheek, "Good night Rose."

I blushed, "Night," I squeaked.

I went up to my room, my head swimming in a billion thoughts. Mason and Dimitri stared in my roles that night.


	9. Chapter 10

Dimitri POV

I walked away from Rose and the group that was clustered around her. Boy did I wish our embrace would have lasted longer. But if it did, then it would start rumors up for Rose, and I really didn't need that right now. I needed her whole, alive, not broken.

I ran into Tasha on my way to the dorms. Crap, did I really have to face her now?

"Dimka! How was your ride home?" She asked.

"Good," I told her.

She threw her arms around me, and I did the same, wrapping them around her awkwardly. The only person that I had every truly embraced was my Roza.

"What is it that you wanted to ask me?" I asked her, remembering out earlier conversation.

She opened her mouth to speak, when I heard Alberta walking towards us.

We pulled apart just as she rounded the corner, and I put that Guardian mask back on my face.

"Guardian Petrov," I nodded in greeting.

"Guardian Belikov, I trust that you got back safely?" She asked me.

I nodded again, "Yes, the roads were perfectly fine and Rose is doing very well."

"Good, good, but I need your opinion on something," She said, spotting Tasha behind me, "Privately, if you don't mind, Miss Ozera.

Tasha nodded and turned away and went downstairs.

"Guardian Belikov, about the accident with Arthur, we have decided to send the students and the Guardians to Washington for Christmas. Since you weren't here during out vote on the subject, I would like to know your opinion," Alberta said.

I considered the thought. They were all on edge from the attack that was expected. Arthur had killed many Strigoi and was never once even injured! It was a pretty good idea to send the Academy to Washington for a little fun.

"I think that would be an excellent idea, Guardian Petrov," I answered.

She nodded, "Great, thank you for your opinion Guardian Belikov."

She turned away and walked downstairs as well, leaving me to my thoughts. I went into my room and dropped my bag on the floor, closing and locking the door behind me.

I couldn't think straight, the only thought that I was capable of was thinking about Rose, about our last embrace. Now that we were back at the Academy, we had to act professional again. We can't steal hugs and kisses from each other because the risk of being seen is too great. I sighed, why couldn't there be a snow storm that would last for weeks on end? Why couldn't we stay in our cozy room together, forever? _Why? Because, you idiot, you're her _mentor_ and she's your student! _That voice told me, and I nodded. I vowed to never again forget that.

Rose POV

When I woke up the next morning, I headed off to practice in a pink sports bra and shorts. I ran into Mason, and he immediately came to my side.

"Hey, Hathaway, don't run away!" He called to me, catching up.

I laughed, "Nice, you came up with yet _another _stupid phrase," I mumbled.

He laughed too, "Yup, so where you headed this early?"

"Practice, and shouldn't you be on your bed dreaming about me instead of talking to me?" I asked.

He smiled, "Maybe this is my dream, and if it is, this is the best fucking dream yet! But, no I'm headed to take a math test."

Talking with Mason was so easy, we both liked to flirt, which was what made everyone say that we were the perfect couple. Although I failed to see their logic, I still kept on flirting with Mason. It was fun, and he would flirt back.

"So, you excited to get on the slopes?" He asked, abruptly changing subjects.

"What slopes?" I asked him, stopping.

He stopped too, "What, you didn't hear? They're taking us to Washington, to a Ski Lodge, to get away from things."

I nodded, my mood going down. That meant that the Academy just wanted us to forget about the incident. The one with the little boy, the gruesome murders. It was impossible to forget though, if you saw it.

"I'm gonna kick your butt, then," I joked.

"Hey, be nice or I'm taking away your Christmas present."

I hadn't expected that. "You, you got me something?"

He nodded, "Yup, but if you're gonna be a jerk I'm gonna give it to someone else."

I laughed, like he would ever! He was head over heels for me.

We walked into the gym. Mason opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then cursed under his breath.

"What?" I asked him.

"Mentor," He whispered in my ear.

"Catch you later Hathaway!" He told me, sweeping me a gallant bow.

"If you can," I mumbled, smiling at him as his image faded. His shoulders were shaking with laughter.

I turned towards Dimitri, seeing that he had stopped on the other side of the gym. I sucked my breath in, the gym was filled with practice dummies, each one looked like it represented an actual person.

Dimitri flipped the sliver stake out and threw it in the air, caught it, and put it back into it's sheath.

"Oh my god, please tell me I get to learn to do that today," I said, my eyes filled with awe.

He laughed, "You'll be lucky if I let you _touch _it today."

I groaned, it was just like him to let me see what I wanted to see, then snatch it away from me.

"First, tell me where the heart is," He told me, his voice calm as he walked towards where I was standing.

"Are you serious?" I asked in exasperation.

He merely shrugged.

I kicked the center of the dummies chest. "There."

He shook his head, "No."

"Of course it's there! People put their hand over their hearts when they say the pledge or sing the national anthem!" I cried.

"Try again," He told me.

I flicked the other part of the dummies chest.

"Here?" I asked.

"I don't know, is it?"

"That's what I'm asking you!"

"Next time we have practice, I want you to tell me where the heart is," He told me, walking out the door. I groaned and found my jacket lying on a bench. I wondered how that got there. I shook it on, not bothering to zip it all the way up.

When I was in my first period class, Mason took one look at me and said, "Whoa, who pissed you off?"

"Belikov, who cares where the stupid heart is!" I hissed.

He laughed, "You don't know where the heart is?"

I glared at him, and he immediately sobered up. "I mean, Belikov should be thrown in hell for the great sin he committed against you."

I nodded, "Better."

Suddenly, I saw the woman standing before our class.

Holy crap, god could this day get any fucking worse?!


	10. Chapter 11

Rose POV

Janine Hathaway was standing before my class. Her arms crossed, and looking as much of a bitch as ever. God dammit, why the fuck did she have to come to my class _today?!_ By the looks of things, she didn't even know that I was in this class. Wow, I thought, what a great mom doesn't even know what class her daughter has first period.

"Alright class, we have a few guest speakers, one of them being the famous Janine Hathaway," Stan said, his voice filled with delight.

I wanted to just rip him in half. How the fuck could he be so effing happy! I decided to try and ring in my emotions, aware that Dimitri was standing in the back of the class room. I was only controlling myself for him, to show him that I'm mature.

I let the conversation play out, letting all the other speakers talk without interrupting or asking questions. I tried to make myself as invisible as possible. I wanted my mom to be shocked to find me in this class, so maybe she would slip up when I gave her my famous smart ass attitude.

When the second to last speaker was finished, and it was my mothers turn, my face twisted into an evil grin.

I listened to what she had to say, trying to find out flaws. I listened for over 10 minutes; the raid that she had participated in didn't seem to have any mistakes in them. Until, finally, I found something I could voice my opinion on. And that opinion would totally kick some ass without me having to lift a finger.

"So, _Guardian _Hathaway, why didn't you guys just secure the place?" I asked her, innocently.

And I got the reaction I wanted. Her head jerked up at my voice, as if she was shocked that I even existed. Surprise, surprise.

"What?" She asked dumbfounded.

"Why didn't you guys just put stakes around the house? That would have saved you a lot of trouble," I told her, my smugness rising.

"Because we didn't have the time, and the only point is that we saved the moroi that were trapped," Her voice was now guarded, and her eyes were like chips of ice.

"Yeah, I get how you saved the day, but say you guys had split up before to replace the old wards, that would have saved a lot of the Guardians trouble."

I heard murmurs of agreement from my class and the group that had just spoken. I was now ecstatic with happiness.

"You're missing my point, Rose, my point is that we _couldn't _split up because if we did then some of the moroi wouldn't even make it out the door," She told me, her voice crisp.

Dammit, I couldn't argue with that one. But, hey, I was pretty pissed off, so I took a shot at it.

"Still seems to me that you messed up, an experienced Guardian like you should have planned ahead, because if you did that in the first place, it would have saved you-------

"Rose, that's enough. Get your things and go," Stan's voice cut through my words.

I looked back into his eyes and saw a glint of pride that I had just had an argument with one of the most talented Guardians there, but he had to make it look like he was punishing me even though he was just as ecstatic as I was.

I nodded, "See ya Guardian Hathaway," I called over my shoulder and walked out the door, leaving my mother glaring at me.

When I had practice again I knew where everything was.

"The hearts there and the sternum and ribs are blocking the way," I told him.

"How do you get through them?"

So typical, he gave me another question to answer right after I finished answering the first one.

We spent most of class going over that, but then, he finally gave it to me.

"You're giving it to me?" I asked, shocked.

"Yes, I thought you would have taken it and run by now," He mused.

He taught me how to stake the dummies, giving me encouragement and pointers when I needed them.

"Good, very good," He told me, after practice.

"Really?" I asked, shocked from his praise.

"Yes, you're doing it like you've been doing it for years," He told me.

My mood shot from happy to ecstatic.

I looked behind me, spotting a red haired dummy that looked like my mother. "Can I stake that one next time?"

He looked at the one I was refering to. "I don't think that would be healthy."

"Well it's better to do it to it rather then _her," _I mumbled.

"Why do you hate her so much?" He asked me.

I thought about it for a second, "Because she put more time into her reputation then to me. She just gave me up here and went on doing her job, never even cheking in on me."

"So you're jealous that she put more time into her reputation then you," He told me, voice gentle.

I couldn't argue with that. I knew that he was right, because it was actually true. I wish that she had tried to at least raise me until I was two, or one even. Then I would be able to know that she actually carried about me.

"She's probably just doing it for her molnijas though," I told Dimitri.

"Come with me," He said abruptly.

"Why?" I asked him, my heart beating faster.

"I want to show you that not all marks are badges of honor," Was all he said.

I shrugged and followed him out the door.


	11. Chapter 12

Rose POV

We walked out of the school, crunching snow underneath my feet. We walked past an old Guardian post that was now white from the snow, and headed towards a fire burning in the center of the field that was now a winter wonder land.

As we got closer, a shape ran up to us and practically tackled Dimitri.

My mind started to overflow with images of hate and murder. God, did I want that woman dead. How dare she throw herself at Dimitri? Who the hell did she think she is?

To my disgust, Dimitri actually wrapped his arms around her and there was that extremely rare happy smile on his face. A smile that he rarely shot my way. My heart ached at the thought of him loving her over me, but I quickly brushed it off when I felt a snow ball slam into my shoulder.

I turned around just in time to see Christian laughing his ass off.

"Oh god, you're so dead, Ozera," I yelled, scooping up a pile of snow and throwing it at him.

He was still laughing when it hit him in the face. Then, I joined in on the laughter.

"Oh come on, Hathaway, can't you take a joke?" He asked, wiping away the snow.

"Yeah, when it's not coming from you," I replied.

Christian stalked towards me with Lissa in tow. I glared at him, I didn't know why he was mad, but he looked pretty pissed.

"How come when someone else plays a joke on you, you're all 'that was pretty funny' but when it's me, you're like 'Christian I'm going to murder you!?" He asked.

"I didn't say that, I was just playing along," I told him.

"Oh," He nodded, face thoughtful.

I then heard Mason running up to us, "Hathaway, what up!"

I laughed as he threw his arms around me, "What's up?"

"Nothing," I told him, wrapping my arms around him too, fully aware that Dimitri was staring at me with disapproving eyes. But if he could be all over Tasha, I get to chose my guy.

He let go of me and faced the others, "What's up Ozera, Lissa, Guardian Belikov, and----

His eyes lingered on Tasha, confused. "Tasha," She said.

He nodded, not saying anything else.

Tasha turned her eyes on me, she was giving me a bright smile, probably trying to make me forget about what I had seen. Yeah, like I could ever forget.

"Rose, Christian has told me so much about you!" She exclaimed.

I glared at Christian, shooting him daggers.

"They were all good," She told me quickly.

"No they weren't," Christian muttered.

"Well, he told me that you're the best novice there is in this school," Tasha continued.

"So how about it, Rose, think you could take her?" Dimitri asked me.

I looked her up and down, "Why not give it a try?"

My evil side seemed to be coming out, the one that just wanted her dead, and this was a perfect opportunity to inflict pain on her and get away with it saying that it was unintentional.

Tasha gave me a smile, and nodded, "But go easy on me, how embarrassing would it be to get my butt kicked by a 17 year old girl?"

I nodded, but I was _so _not gonna go easy on her. In her effing dreams.

She nodded to show that she was ready, I took off my jacket despite the cold weather, and heard Mason whistle. I saw Dimitri shoot him a disapproving look, and turn towards me again.

I nodded as well, and we circled each other, finally, she jumped at me, going for my legs, I dodged it easily, managing to grab her arm and pin her in the snow before she kicked my back. The wind was knocked out of me, but I ignored it. I intended to beat her ass at this. After all, how hard could it be?

I stepped back and she advanced on me, her face serious, and there was no trace of that happy smile I had seen before. It was cold, calculating. As if she really did want to hurt me.

Like that would ever happen. I kicked her in the stomach, heard her groan and didn't waist my chance, kicking her again in the same place before she was down for the count. I was on her in a second, pushing her into the snow.

Dimitri came up to us, patted his hand down three times, and I got off of her.

"Rose, that was amazing!" Christian exclaimed.

I shrugged, "No big deal."

"It was a big deal, Hathaway, you were awesome," Mason told me, wrapping his arms around me. I laughed, this is how he flirted with me, in his own twisted ways.

Tasha got up and dusted the snow off of her clothes.

"Wow Rose, you truly are one of the best novices in the school," She said, giving me a smile which I promptly ignored.

I felt Mason's hands trailing along my exposed stomach, giving me warmth where ever he touched. I felt him bring his lips down to my neck and gasped in surprise, looking up to meet his face. Love and passion were written across it, so intense that I thought I would faint. Good thing Mason was holding on to me.

I heard Dimitri cough, and looked up at his face, which was filled with disappointment.

"So, how's the Karate lessons going, Tasha?" Lissa asked, obviously she hadn't caught what Mason was doing, or maybe she was just trying to make this easier on me, I wasn't sure.

"Good, I'm taking a break though, to come hang out with you guys on the ski trip. But I need to get a few things, Dimka, would you like to come with me?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yes, I would be honored to guard you for the night, Tasha."

Crap, no! God, why did Dimitri have to go? Why did she have to take him away from me? I didn't understand what he saw in her anyways, her face was full of scars, which I remembered Christian saying were from protecting him the night his parents came to turn him. Why couldn't she die? I thought bitterly. It was a selfish thought, but hey, I was plenty pissed.

I slid out of Mason's arms and back into my jacket while Christian, Lissa, and Mason stayed behind to talk to Tasha. Dimitri was walking with me.

"So, do you understand?" He asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, you were right. The scars didn't represent honor," I told him icily.

"Rose, is something wrong?" He asked.

I shook my head, "Nope."

I headed towards the gym with the mats that covered the floor, and left Dimitri standing outside his room, shocked.

That night I don't know how many times I fell on that mat, from despair or hurt or pain, or all of the above, I don't know. All I knew was that it hurt like hell when he left with Tasha. I really wished that it was me, but it wasn't.

At around 11pm I was pretty tired, but I kept on trying to do a few flips off the mat, fifteen in a row to be exact. I got up to 14 when I hell back down again, too dejected to move and get up again. It hurt so bad, I didn't even know that I could feel this kind of pain.

I sighed, walked up to my room, and fell asleep. When I got up to practice, I thought that it was too quiet. I opened the door to see the lights turned off, and tensed myself, waiting for Dimitri to strike. But he never did. I saw one spot light being shone, and in that spotlight was my mother. Janine Hathaway. A.K.A the Queen of the Bitches.

"Shit," I murmured.

"Where's Dimitri?" I asked.

"He was up all night taking care of Miss Ozera, and he couldn't make it, so I offered to fill in."

"Shit," I said again.

"Watch your mouth," She snapped.

This was going to be a _long _lesson.


	12. Chapter 13

Dimitri POV

I woke up just as soon as my alarm clock went off. I hastily slammed it to keep it quiet and pulled on sweat pants and a t-shirt. I had to see Rose; I had to make sure that she was ok.

"Dimka, why do you get up so early?" Tasha moaned.

"Because, I have practice with Rose right now," I told her.

I let Tasha sleep over with me last night because her cabin wasn't done yet, and she accepted the offer. She was laying on my bed in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, with her black hair spilling every where.

"Couldn't you stay a while longer?" She pleaded.

I shook my head, "I'm sorry, but I can't."

She sighed. "Alright, I'll be here, see ya Dimka."

I walked out of the door and down the stairs into the gym. I waited a few minutes until Rose came in; her hair was down today, which was odd. And she angled her face so that it never looked me straight in the eye.

We were practicing with the dummies again, and Rose knew what to do. She went through three of the dummies, with me occasionally criticizing her.

"You're hairs in the way," I told her at one point. "Not only are you blocking your peripheral vision, but you're at risk of letting your enemy get a hand hold."

"When I'm actually in battle, I'll wear it up," She said, grunting and shoving the stake into the dummies heart.

"Rose," I said, warning her to stop.

She looked pretty upset, and yet, beautiful.

"Rose, stop!" I told her, and she took the stake back and stepped away from the dummy, backing up slowly until her back hit the wall.

"Look at me," I told her, wanting to kiss away all the pain and grief she felt.

"Dimitri-," She began.

"_Look at me," _I said, with more force.

She couldn't refuse a direct order, I knew that much. Slowly, she tipped her head so that her hair covered one part of her face. The part that was where Janine had hurt her.

My hand reached up involuntarily and pushed that soft brown hair back, and gasped. Her eye was swollen to a pink around the edges, and it was bruised on the eyelid. It looked like Janine had taken a crow bar and slammed her daughter's face against it.

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

She shook her head, "No."

I knew she was lying, but I didn't push on. I let my hand fall back down to my side.

"It doesn't look bad," It was my turn to lie.

"I hate her," She said, her voice full of venom. I was shocked that Rose could hate some one so much.

"No you don't," I insisted.

"Yes, I do," her voice was softer.

"You should make peace with her," I suggested.

"Make peace with that monster? After she gave me a black eye on purpose?" Rose cried out in frustration.

"She didn't do it on purpose, I saw her after what happened, and she looked horrible," I said.

"She's probably just scared that someone will sue her for abuse charges," Rose mumbled.

"You should forgive her, it's almost Christmas," I told her.

"Can you not sound like some sappy Christmas special?" She asked me, her anger only rising, "Miracles don't happen in the real world, it's all a bunch of fairy tall crap."

"You can make your own miracles," I told her, it was true. You actually could, if you tried hard enough.

"Oh my fucking god! Can you stop with all the Zen life lesson bull? I swear, it's like you just want to hear yourself talk! You don't treat me like a real person, and I know you're not always like this. With Tasha you're perfectly normal, but with me you're just stuck being a stupid mentor. Once you're hours are done, you don't have to care about me anymore, and you can just go and do what you want to do and not give a fucking damn what happens to me," She yelled. Her frustration had hit a breaking point. So had mine.

"You think I don't care about you?" I asked my voice dangerously low.

"I know you don't," She answered. Her hand reached up and her index finger was suddenly jabbing at my chest, "I'm just another student to you, someone that Kirova wants to be fixed into the perfect Guardian, and not the same trouble maker before she left. You just go on with your stupid life lessons so that-----

I couldn't hold it in anymore, the hand that I had used to touch her hair grabbed her hand and pinned it to the wall. I saw shock and surprise go through her face, but when I was pissed off, I couldn't stop.

"Do _not _tell me what I'm feeling," I growled.

I saw her flinch under my gaze and my tone, but I couldn't comfort her. My patience was all used up. And suddenly, I realized that this was all showing on my face.

"That's it, isn't it? You're just like me," She whispered.

Crap, she'd seen through the mask!

"What?" I decided to play dumb for a while.

"You're always fighting for the control, you're just like me," She repeated.

"No, Rose, I've learned my lessons on control," I told her, I was still pretty pissed off, but I had to keep my voice even.

"No, you haven't. You put on a good face, but inside, there's a war going on between controlling yourself and just letting go. And sometimes," She took a step towards me. "Sometimes you want to just let go."

"Rose…." I told her, trying to fight the emotions.

Suddenly, I felt her lips on mine, and I felt all my walls break down. I let the love and passion flow through me and I sighed in contentment. I wrapped my arms around her, the hand that had pinned her hand to the wall was now in her hair. She was clinging to me, but then, a coherent part of my mind finally realized what I was doing, and the walls were back in place. I pulled away from her.

"Don't ever do that again," I said shakily.

"Don't kiss me back then," She retorted.

"I give you lessons to teach you self control, not to hear myself talk," I told her, my voice icy. I never used this tone on Rose before, but I couldn't help it just now.

"You're doing a great job," She said, just as angry.

I sighed, and murmured something in Russian. In English, it translated to, "Rose, I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore. I can't. I'm letting you go. I'm taking Tasha's offer. Good bye."

I headed off to my room, where I knew that Tasha was waiting. I was going to say yes. I am going to forget Rose and leave her behind. She is no part of my future. Just my past. My heart ached, but I knew that I had to keep on going. This was the right thing to do.

I opened my door. "Tasha, I accept."

Those words sealed the promise.

**OMG! OK, told you there would be a twist! God, my heart like broke when I typed the ending to this! Please review your asses off lmfaooo it would make me rlly happy! Oh, and don't worry, Dimitri isn't going to disappear just yet. Don't' forget to review! Love you all! OK since I can't put the next chapter up idk y but fanfic won't let me!!!!! i'm gonna make a book two for this ok???? PLZ READ THIS IT'S CRUCIAL IF U WANNA READ MY STUFF!!!!!!! srry to keep u guys waitin luv u all!!!! **


End file.
